5 suicide bombers killed in Iraq's Salahudin province

Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 17:22:06|Editor: An
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TIKRIT, Iraq, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces killed five suicide bombers on Friday while trying to infiltrate to the city of Samarra in Iraq's northern central province of Salahudin, a provincial security source told Xinhua.

Based on intelligence reports, the troops ambushed five suspected suicide bombers in the early morning in Muthanna outskirts in eastern Samarra, some 120 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The troops opened fire on the would-be suicide bombers, sparking a heavy clash that resulted in the killing of the five suspects, who were all wearing explosive belts, the source said.

Salahudin's authorities frequently warned that the extremist Islamic State (IS) militants are attacking the cities and villages of the province using the sprawling rugged area that extends from the western part of Salahudin province to the desert in the neighboring Anbar province, and similarly, the area extends from the eastern part of the province to the IS redoubt in Mteibijah on the provincial border with Diyala province, as well.

The incident came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their major stronghold in western Mosul in northern Iraq.

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